Archers in general, and bow hunters in particular, are often required to shoot an arrow in a short period of time. Bow hunters may have only a matter of seconds to target and shoot a fleeing prey. Because the steps of extracting an arrow from a quiver, nocking it on the bow string, and positioning the arrow on an arrow rest consume an unacceptable time period, bow hunters typically hunt with an arrow nocked to the bow string and undrawn. Conventional arrow rests support the shaft of the arrow from below, but do not prevent the nocked arrow from rolling or tipping off the rest. For short periods of time the arrow may be held in place by the archer's bow hand index finger looped around the arrow. However, as hunters may often go hours or days before discharging an arrow, the hand held position is inadequate for lengthy hunts.
Numerous arrow holding devices have been developed to address the bow hunter's need. Some of these devices require activation of a trigger to release the arrow from its held position. Others employ tethers connected to the bow string to retract the arrow holder or utilize mechanisms which may be cumbersome to retract or engage.
For accuracy it is essential that the arrow holder not interfere with the discharge of the arrow. Furthermore, in hunting applications, the release of the holder should be substantially silent to avoid startling the game.
What is needed is an arrow holder which is quiet, reliable, which does not interfere with loading or discharge of the arrow, and which is substantially automatic in operation.